2 Plead Not Guilty Of Deal To Sell Missiles

Two men allegedly involved in a plot to sell 1,140 antitank missiles to Iran entered pleas of not guilty Friday at their arraignment before a U.S. magistrate in Orlando.

U.S. Magistrate Donald Dietrich told the defendants, Paul Cutter, 47, of San Jose, Calif., who also is known as Paul Sjeklocha, and Fadel N. Fadel, 54, a Lebanese citizen living in Calabasas, Calif., to be prepared to start their trial in U.S. District Court by Oct. 7.

The two men are part of a group of seven people accused of conspiring to sell the missiles to Iran for $9.12 million as weapons in its war with Iraq. Charges against the defendants, including U.S. Army Lt. Col. Wayne Gillespie, include conspiring to defraud the U.S. government, wire fraud, bribery and attempting to ship arms illegally to Iran.

The arraignment of another defendant, Iranian Hossein Monshizadeh-Azar, 38, was postponed until 2 p.m. Tuesday to give him time to get an attorney.

Monshizadeh-Azar had to use a translator who speaks Farsi, the language of Iran, to follow the proceedings Friday. FBI agents claim he is a member of the Iranian government and that he tried to buy weapons through Cutter, Fadel and others.

All of the other defendants, except Farhin Sanai, 52, an importer- exporter from Iran, already have entered pleas of not guilty. Sanai, who is married to Fadel, is expected to be arraigned in Orlando next week.

Also charged in the 17-count indictment returned against the seven was European Defense Associates Inc. of Campbell, Calif., which had a plea of not guilty entered on its behalf Friday. According to the California attorneys who filed incorporation papers for the company, Cutter is the company's president. Cutter's attorney, Chris Carroll, told the magistrate that Cutter could not afford to pay an attorney. Dietrich agreed to appoint Carroll, who lives in California, to represent Cutter at the taxpayers' expense.

Cutter filed a financial statement Friday stating that he has no assets and is trying to sell his $200,000 California home to cover other, unrelated legal costs.

Government prosecutors questioned Cutter's financial statement, at one point asking what happened to $100,000 they claimed he received from Sanai. On the advice of Carroll, Cutter declined to answer that question.

It was the first time prosecutors have mentioned any money changing hands between individuals involved in the case. They refused, however, to say what the payment was for.

Carroll asked Dietrich to allow Cutter to keep writing materials with him while he is in Seminole County jail.

Carroll and Alex Freedman, who represents Cutter in other legal matters, said they assume Cutter is planning to write a book about his experiences. Carroll said Cutter ''is a journalist, a writer and an intellectual.''